State Capitol Report: Lawmakers On Various Bills, Special Session On BadgerCare

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Tune in for the State Capitol Report. Joy Cardin’s guest lawmakers weigh in on the various bills taken up in recent days, including election reform and access to land surrounding the iron mine site near Lake Superior. Plus, they react to Governor Walker’s call for a special legislative session to extend the deadline for moving people off BadgerCare.

State Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said a Republican bill that offers more tax credits to people who restore historic buildings in Wisconsin amounts to a “big giveaway” and a “ridiculous gift” to wealthy property developers.

The state Senate passed the bill last week by a vote of 31-2 with Grothman and Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, opposing it. The Assembly passed the measure in October, 88-4.

The tax credit, which Grothman said is like cash, was 5 percent earlier this year. It was increased to 10 percent in the state budget. This current bill, authored by state Sen. Rick Gudex, R-Fond du Lac, raises the...

Democratic and Republican state lawmakers had differing opinions on Monday about Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to extend the BadgerCare program by three months for the approximately 70,000 Wisconsinites who might otherwise be left without health care on Jan. 1.

Walker said that glitches in the federal insurance exchange website have prompted state officials to keep the state's program operating for those people who would otherwise move to the federal effort. The governor asked for a special session of the Legislature last week to extend BadgerCare.

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